"Julia is someone I could instantly envision in that era and within the world of Old Hollywood," said DeLia. "I've watched her work since I was a kid in the mid '90s when she was emerging as a very cool and very talented actress.

"In my eyes, she has never wavered from being someone totally dedicated to what she does."

Stiles will join Lily Rabe, Michael Pitt and Ryan Simpkins on The First, which counts Dominick Fairbanks - a great grandson of Pickford's second husband Douglas Fairbanks - as one of its producers.